THOSE WERE THE DAYS
George Thomas
reflects on the
days when
Herefordshire
hop picking
meant lots
of fun and
fighting.
FESTIVE NEWS • DECEMBER 2014 • PAGE 41
The hops have been gathered in and the few
remaining hop yards dotted across Herefordshire
are stripped of their lush greenery, empty of men
and machines, leaving the landscape with an eerie
stillness.
The regimented rows of hop poles lie bare as
the crop they have borne is processed to put the
aroma and taste in beer. And, like the beer, hop
picking is not what it used to be.
Those were the days when thousands of folk,
miners and their families from the Welsh valleys
and the Black Country, as well as gipsies galore,
descended on Herefordshire for the autumn hop
picking season. It was a mad, happy five weeks of
work and play, drinking and fighting. It was more
like a holiday for those from the drab mining
towns; clean fresh air and the chance to earn a few
bob to see them through the winter.
Kippers for breakfast
They slept on straw palliasses in farmyard
buildings, newly cleaned out and given a lick of
white wash. Out in the early morning mist,
cooking kippers for breakfast on a brazier. The
kids did their share of the picking into the huge
hessian hop crib, helping to earn a few shillings a
bushel. The gipsies parked their gaily coloured
horse drawn caravans next to the farmhouse, and
kept apart from the miners.
The miners and their families would arrive by
special trains, dropped off at the nearest station
and met by horse and carts for the ride to the farm
that had hired them. The biggest hop growers
A traditional Herefordshire hop kiln
Monday
Quiz Night 8.00pm
Put your knowledge
to the test!
Tuesday
Accoustic session
the second Tuesday
of every month
Wednesday
Curry & Pint £6.99
Served 6-8pm
Enjoy the festive season with us ….
A typical hopyard scene from a century or more ago... women, probably gipsies and children
take a break from picking for a cuppa.
would take on up to a 1000 pickers. Village pubs
did a roaring trade. Punch-ups were common. But
on the whole the hop harvests of old were joyous
occasions. I well remember Tom Stevens, a retired
police sergeant who toured the hop farms before
and after World War 11, telling me: “There were
always fights and petty thieving and the odd army
deserter, but never anything really serious.” He
said then, back in 1975: “The wonderful, festival
type atmosphere has gone. It’s just another job
now, and a mechanical one at that.”
The beginning of the end for labour intensive
hand picking started with the introduction of
mechanical harvesting machines in the 1960’s.
Even the number of hopyards has dwindled as
brewers import cheaper hops
For centuries the hand picked hops were dried
on the floor of coal or coke fired kilns, their
conical shape roofs topped with a white cowl to
enhance draught and improve drying capacity.
Picturesque but obsolete. Some of the bigger ones
have been converted into homes. Today giant
harvesters pluck the hop flowers from the bines,
rushing them to huge factory style gas fuelled
conveyor belt drying sheds. The accountants love
the efficiency of it all – and anyway there are no
miners or gipsies left to call upon. Just the
memories.
Bookings being taken for Christmas call for details
Food available everyday
call in and try one of real ales and enjoy
the warmth of a real fire
Our famous Sunday lunch is
served between 12-4pm
Beef, lamb, pork, chicken, nut roast or
choose from our Daily specials
R&S
Steel Services Ltd
ALL TYPES OF STEEL FABRICATION:
INDUSTRIAL & AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS
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Unit C, Three Mills Trading Estate,
Old School Lane, Hereford HR1 1EX
Telephone: 01432 378073 Fax: 01432 350924
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